Conor McGregor: Back Like He Never Left

Image: CBS Sports

The tremendous weight of expectancy was nothing new for a man who not too long ago was at the very top of the mountain. Following a tumultuous couple of years which saw "The Notorious" drift from one sport to another, finding himself embroiled in scandals and trouble pushing him to the brink of squandering all he worked for, the sceptics were out in full force.

There were plenty of those when he first made a splash in the Octagon almost seven years ago as a brash young Irishman, and the numbers would only increase when he secured himself a bout with then pound-for-pound featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo in one of the most meteoric rises we have ever seen in combat sports. What happened on that night needs no introduction, as possibly the most famous 13 seconds in the sport's history. People laughed when he mentioned the idea of holding two titles at the same time too. But still, written off, ridiculed and doubted, no one was buying it when Conor McGregor first mentioned a super fight with Floyd Mayweather. As the trend would go, dreams would turn to reality - and while he may not have got his hand raised in the second biggest selling fight of all time, Conor proved those sceptics wrong.

Image: USA TODAY

Things got in the way after that night where he pocketed in excess of $80 million, however. Proper Twelve may have soared to a profound place in the whisky market, but McGregor himself was perhaps lost amid the chaos - after all that fortune, what else would suffice? A showdown with lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov soon did lure him back home to the UFC - but it ended in disastrous fashion, as he was mauled en route to a fourth-round submission defeat.

The calendar year of 2019 saw McGregor make the headlines for all the wrong reasons. The once soaring legend of The Notorious was now in a vicious tailspin. Accusations, court cases, footage of him punching an elderly man in a pub to name a few had many questioning whether this was the beginning of a devastating fall from grace - the chances of him recapturing the magic from his legendary debut run in the UFC were slimming by the days.

Image: John Locher / AP Photo

When you leave such a lasting impact on a sport, slipping away into obscurity is virtually impossible. Combine that with Conor's true affection for the fight game and it wasn't too long before rumours were running rampant - and after watching a wild year unfold in the Octagon from BMFs to new champions and of course plenty of mentioning of his name, it was inevitable that he would gravitate back to the eight-sided cage. Donald Cerrone was either a formidable comeback test or an over-the-hill big name for Conor to rack up a couple more million depending on who you asked.

There was no trash talk, no disrespectful antics, just a calm man who quietly knew just what was at stake at UFC 246. Aware of the challenge that faced him, Conor underwent what most of his inner circle have described as one of the best training camps of his career - and how it showed on January 18th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The Notorious marched forward with intent to land his patented left hand on Cowboy, and although the American evaded that power shot, he walked into a knee and then a cluster of thumping shoulder strikes in the clinch leaving him walking wounded for a blood-smelling McGregor to pounce on. A head-kick and some hammer fists later, and that was all she wrote: 40 seconds to send a statement. Surprise surprise, the king is back.

It was the first time McGregor's hand was raised in victory in more than 3 years. But what followed was all too familiar - he's still the biggest star in MMA. It took two thirds of a minute for him to dispatch the man with the most wins in UFC history, and open up a extra-large can of worms: The Notorious is back in the driver's seat.

Image: The Independent

Comfortable and powerful at 170 lbs, the welterweight version of this already storied career has began a new chapter. Last year we saw that division explode into life with Kamaru Usman dethroning Tyron Woodley to set up a huge end-of-year main event with Colby Covington, while Jorge Masvidal was making plenty of noise as fighter of the year, and accredited the "Baddest Motherf***er" in the UFC. McGregor opting to fight at 170 was the shooting of a flare for the division that he wants a piece, and no matter what you may think of the matchups in his favour, everything is on the table.

Not to mention that Khabib Nurmagomedov's highly-anticipated lightweight title defence against Tony Ferguson is scheduled for April. After four cancellations, if this fight finally goes down it will provide plenty of clarity at 155 - and it may open up a window for Conor to seek revenge. He may not have said it but that Khabib rematch will be a burning desire for him. There's still another worthy contender who wants, and arguably deserves a piece: Justin Gaethje handed Cerrone a knockout loss before he fought McGregor and was clamouring to be his return fight to no avail.

The agenda is as busy as its ever been for Conor but that's just how it always tends to be - chasing history with a quickly changing landscape is always going to throw up plenty of foes. Who he does face next is perhaps more McGregor's choice than the UFC's preference, but after those electric 40 seconds, the world's eyes will really be tuned in now - Conor's proved his point, and now he can add to the legacy that was already legendary before he stepped into a professional boxing ring. We may be about to see The Notorious like we've never seen before.